Electronic identifier payment systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for accepting payments for goods and services provided by a consumer provider. The methods can include associating consumers and consumer providers with a payment provider. The payment provider can receive payments destined for the consumer provider, associate the payments with one or more identifiers, and transfer at least portions of the receive payments to the consumer provider. The systems can include a point-of-sale device configured to accept payments from consumers on behalf of consumer providers. In some cases, the systems include a plurality of such point-of-sale devices in communication with a payment provider control. The payment provider control can be in communication with one or more consumer provider controls.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part application and claims thebenefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/007,701, filed Dec. 10, 2001,the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.The aforementioned application is a continuation in part of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/823,697, filed Mar. 31, 2001, and U.S.application Ser. No. 09/990,702, filed Nov. 9, 2001, the completedisclosures of which are also incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to financial transaction systemsand methodologies, and in particular to methods and systems for makingpayments based on a consumer identification.

A wide variety of payment methods are available to consumers of goodsand services. In addition to currency, consumers are often able to usetheir credit in making purchases. A common system for making creditpurchases involves the use of a credit card provided by a credit cardissuer, such as a commercial bank or other financial institution.Non-credit transactions can be handled by debit cards, which utilizefunds already deposited by the consumer for payment purposes.

Many types of payment methodologies are dependent upon consumers havingrelationships with financial institutions such as banks, credit unions,etc. However, a substantial percentage of consumers do not use suchconventional financial institutions. These consumers are often referredto as “unbanked” because they do not maintain accounts with suchinstitutions. Unbanked consumers are often inconvenienced in makingfinancial transactions. For example, without bank accounts, theyexperience difficulty and inconvenience in obtaining negotiableinstruments, making purchases on credit, etc.

Recently there have been a variety of new products which provide atleast partial solutions to the problems of the unbanked and otherconsumers. For example, “prepay” cards allow consumers to pre-purchasevarious goods and services. An important example relates to the use oftelecommunications services, which are available through prepaid“calling cards”. Many consumers prepay on a monthly basis for “dialtone” service. Prepaid cards can also be reloadable whereby additionalvalue can be added by consumers for using their cards indefinitely.Another system involves the use of a service provider making payments onbehalf of consumers over the Internet global computer network or bynegotiable instrument. While these solutions address some of the needsof the unbanked, there remain other needs that have not been addressed.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for solutions to address problemsincurred by the unbanked and other consumers. Hence, among a number ofother advantages apparent from the following description, the presentinvention provides systems and methods for addressing such problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for acceptingpayments for goods and services provided by a consumer provider. Themethods can include associating consumers and consumer providers with apayment provider. The payment provider can receive payments destined forthe consumer provider, associate the payments with one or moreidentifiers, and transfer at least portions of the received payments tothe consumer provider. Further, the present invention provides systemsand methods for enrolling consumers in such payment acceptance systems.

The systems can include a point-of-sale device configured to acceptpayments from consumers on behalf of consumer providers. In some cases,the systems include a plurality of such point-of-sale devices incommunication with a payment provider control. The payment providercontrol can be in communication with one or more consumer providercontrols. Using such systems, a consumer can enroll to make payments viaa payment provider and make payments via the payment provider byaccessing any of a number of point-of-sale devices associated with thepayment provider control.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method that allowsconsumers to gain access to a good or service of a consumer provider byproviding an identifier. For example, the payment provider can issue acard to consumers that are adapted for automatically inputting consumerinformation or identifyingan existing customer record or account, oreven a source of customer information. Along with the information, aconsumer can tender a payment which can then be forwarded to anappropriate consumer provider. In this way, a consumer can make paymentsto a potentially remote consumer provider at a location convenient tothe consumer.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for creating abusiness relationship between a consumer provider and a consumer. Themethod includes storing a record of at least one identifier in adatabase of a payment provider. A payment is received from a consumer onbehalf of a consumer provider. The payment is associated with theidentifier and a record of the payment and the associated identifier aremade. In some instances, the method further includes receiving a requestfrom the consumer provider as to whether the payment was made by theconsumer, and responding to the request. In other instances, the methodfurther includes providing an indication to the consumer provider thatthe payment was made by the consumer. Yet further, in some instances,the method further includes electronically sending at least a portion ofthe payment from the payment provider to an account of the consumerprovider.

Various aspects of the present invention can include an escrow system.For example, in one embodiment, a consumer can identify a desired good.The consumer can then provide payment for the good or service at thepayment provider. The payment provider can in turn provide an identifierassociated with the payment to the consumer. The consumer can contactthe consumer provider with the identifier, upon which the consumerprovider can validate the amount of payment made by contacting thepayment provider. Upon validation, the consumer provider can provide thegoods. In particular instances, the goods can be shipped to the paymentprovider, and when the consumer obtains the goods from the paymentprovider, the previously accepted funds are transferred to the consumerprovider. In other instances, the goods are provided directly to theconsumer. Where the consumer does not return the goods within apredetermined time, the previously accepted funds are transferred to theconsumer provider. In cases where the goods are not received by theconsumer or the goods are unacceptable, the funds are not transferred tothe consumer provider, but rather returned to the consumer.

In various embodiments, the aforementioned method further includesproviding the identifier to the consumer. In some instances, theconsumer can provide this identifier to the consumer provider to enableaccess to a desired good and/or service.

In some instances, the identifier is associated with a particularconsumer provider, or even a good or service offered by the consumerprovider. In other instances, the identifier is associated with thepayment, and in yet other instances, the identifier is unique to theconsumer. In various instances, the method further includes enabling aconsumer making a payment to access the good or service for whichpayment was provided. This can include, for example, loading value on astored value vehicle associated with the consumer making the payment.Such a stored value vehicle can be a card, a cell phone, a PDA, a wristwatch or any other vehicle capable of storing value.

In some embodiments, the method further includes storing a record ofmultiple identifiers, which are sent to the consumer provider. Theaforementioned payment is associated with only one of the multipleidentifiers. Thus, in some cases, where the consumer provider requestspayment information, they can identify the requested payment informationby providing particular identifiers for which they are requesting thepayment information.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method is providedfor accepting payments from a consumer for a good or service provided bya consumer provider. The method includes associating a consumer and aconsumer provider with a payment provider. In some aspects, suchassociation can include receiving a record of a consumer from theconsumer provider, where the consumer provider enjoyed a previousrelationship with the consumer. In other aspects, the association caninclude receiving information identifying the consumer and the consumerprovider from the consumer. Using this information, a record at thepayment provider is created. In some aspects, this can also includereceiving a record of one or more goods and/or services supplied by theconsumer provider. The consumer provider can authorize acceptance ofpayments by the payment provider for such goods and/or services onbehalf of the consumer provider.

In addition, the method includes associating the payment with anidentifier, and sending at least a portion of the payment to theconsumer provider. In various instances, the identifier can identify oneor more of the consumer provider, the consumer or the transaction. Inother instances, the identifier is unique to one of the consumerprovider, the consumer or the transaction.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a system forreceiving payments from consumers that are associated with goods and/orservices supplied by a consumer provider. The system includes apoint-of-sale device including a processor and a storage medium. Thestorage medium includes instructions executable by the processor toreceive identification information associated with a consumer, providean identifier, receive payment information associated with the consumer,and associate the payment information with the identifier. In addition,the instructions are executable to cause funds associated with thepayment information to transfer to the consumer provider.

In some aspects, the systems can further include two or morepoint-of-sale devices in communication with a payment provider control.The payment provider control can be in communication with one or moreconsumer provider controls associated with consumer providers. Transferof funds can be directed by a message from a point-of-sale device to thepayment provider control, which in turn causes funds related to thepayment to transfer to the consumer provider.

The summary provides only a general outline of the embodiments accordingto the present invention. Many other objects, features and advantages ofthe present invention will become more fully apparent from the followingdetailed description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the figures which aredescribed in remaining portions of the specification. In the figures,like reference numerals are used throughout several figures to refer tosimilar components. In some instances, a sub-label consisting of a lowercase letter is associated with a reference numeral to denote one ofmultiple similar components. When reference is made to a referencenumeral without specification to an existing sub-label, it is intendedto refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIGS. 1A–1B are schematic diagrams of payment service and/or enrollmentsystems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a logical diagram of a payment service and/or enrollmentsystem similar to the systems illustrated in FIGS. 1;

FIGS. 3A–3B are flow diagrams for enrolling consumers in accordance withembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A–4B are flow diagrams for processing payments in accordance withembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for providing coupon issuance and tabulation inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for providing an repeat consumer discountautomatically in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for a payment provider cross selling service inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram for invalidating accounts in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram for automatically rebating card costs inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention for processing payments associated with multipleproducts of a consumer provider;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of client specific enrollment in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating one method in accordance with thepresent invention for paying for a good or service;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating another method for paying for agood or service according to the invention; and

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a service activation methodaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

Among other things, the present invention provides systems and methodsfor accepting payments for goods and/or services offered by a thirdparty provider. In addition, the present invention provides systems andmethods for enrolling consumers in goods and/or services provided by athird party provider. As further discussed below, such third partyproviders are referred to herein as “consumer providers” and thoseaccepting payments and providing enrollment services are referred to as“payment providers”.

Referring to FIG. 1A, an enrollment and payment system 100 isillustrated that may be used to facilitate payments made to purchasegoods or services, and/or provide enrollment services in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. System 100 includes apoint-of-sale (“POS”) device 110 in communication with a paymentprovider control 130 via a communication network 120. In addition,payment provider control 130 is communicably coupled to one or moreconsumer provider controls 140 via communication network 120. Paymentprovider control 130 is associated with a payment provider database 135and consumer provider controls 140 are associated with consumer providerdatabases 145. As will be evident from the proceeding discussion, system100 can include any number of POS devices 110 and consumer providercontrols 140 in accordance with the various embodiments of the presentinvention.

POS device 110 can be any device disposed at the point-of-sale. Thus,POS device 110 can one such as is described in copending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/634,901, entitled “POINT OF SALE PAYMENTSYSTEM,” filed Aug. 9, 2000 and U.S. Prov. Appl. No. 60/147,899,entitled “INTEGRATED POINT OF SALE DEVICE,” filed Aug. 9, 1999, both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Based onthe description provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize other devices capable of operating as POS device 110. Forexample, POS device 110 can be a personal computer (“PC”), a personaldigital assistant (“PDA”), or the like.

As used herein, a consumer provider is any entity that offers goodsand/or services for sale to consumers. Further, such consumer providersmaintain consumer provider controls 140 to maintain accounts and otherinformation related to the consumers that they serve. Such consumerprovider controls 140 can be any type of computer capable ofcommunicating with other types of communication devices or computers.For example, consumer provider control 140 can be a mainframe computer,such as those available from Tandem, a server computer, or the like.

In some cases, consumer providers are incapable of, or choose not toaccept payments directly from consumers, or a particular group ofconsumers. Thus, in some instances, a consumer provider may desire tooutsource payment services to a payment provider. Alternatively, aconsumer provider may accept payments from consumers with good credit,while it may desire to outsource payment acceptance for consumers withpoor credit to a payment provider. As yet another alternative, aconsumer provider may accept non-cash payments directly, while deferringcash collections to be handled via a payment provider. Some examples ofconsumer providers include, but are not limited to, a phone company, anelectric company, a credit card company, and the like.

Thus, for whatever reason, a consumer provider may choose to utilize apayment provider to collect payments and/or enroll consumers on itsbehalf. Thus, as used herein, a payment provider is any entity that iscapable of accepting payments from consumers and/or enrolling consumers,and crediting the accepted payments to the appropriate consumerprovider. In some cases, a payment provider is an entity that providesboth POS device 110 and payment provider control 130. In other cases, apayment provider is an entity that provides payment provider control130, and accepts inputs from POS devices 110 operated by third parties.In yet other cases, a payment provider is an entity that provides POSdevice 110 that interacts directly with consumer provider controls 140without utilizing payment provider control 130. Further, in some cases apayment provider can also be an enrollment provider, where the paymentprovider not only accepts payments destined for the consumer provider,but also enrolls consumers in the goods and/or services of the consumerprovider. In yet other instances, a payment provider can provide onlyenrollment and not payment acceptance services.

In some embodiments of the present invention, consumer providers 140issue unique identifiers which are associated with a good or servicethat are electronically transmitted to payment provider 130, where theycan be stored in database 135. These identifiers may be associated withspecific consumers. For example, when requesting a good or service, theconsumer provider may create an account, an identifier is thenassociated with the account and issued to the consumer. Alternatively,the identifiers may be associated with a good or service, but not to anygiven consumer. For example, the identifiers may be associated with sometype of stored value, such as phone time, dollars and the like. Thisvalue may be redeemed simply by presenting the identifier to theconsumer provider.

Communication network 120 can be any network capable of transmitting andreceiving information in relation to POS device 110, consumer providercontrols 140, and payment provider controls 130. For example,communication network 120 can comprise a TCP/IP compliant virtualprivate network (“VPN”), the Internet, a local area network (“LAN”), awide area network (“WAN”), a telephone network, a cellular telephonenetwork, an optical network, a wireless network, or any other similarcommunication network.

In some embodiments, communication network 120 is a combination of avariety of network types. For example, in one embodiment, communicationnetwork comprises the Internet for communicating between POS device 110and payment provider control 130, and a dial-up network forcommunicating between payment provider control 130 and consumer providercontrols 140. In light of this document, one of ordinary skill in theart will recognize a number of other network types and/or combinationsthereof that are capable of facilitating communications between thevarious components of system 100.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a logical diagram of system 100 of FIG. 1A isillustrated. Central to system 100 is payment provider control 130. Inparticular embodiments, payment provider control 130 is comprised of ahost computer capable of accessing one or more databases 135. Further,payment provider control 130 facilitates data transfer between one ormore consumer providers 140 and one or more POS devices 110, or othercomputer terminals. Payment provider control 130 can be any type ofcomputer capable of communicating with other types of communicationdevices or computers. For example, payment provider 130 can be amainframe computer, such as those available from Tandem, a servercomputer, or the like.

POS devices 110 communicate with payment provider control 130 in orderto obtain the identifiers and any associated payment information. Forexample, when ready to make a payment, a consumer may present theiridentifier which is entered into POS device 110. This information istransmitted to payment provider control 130 where any relevantinformation regarding the required payment is transmitted back to POSdevice 110. For instance, POS devices 110 may present a screen with theidentifier and the amount of payment required to receive a good orservice from consumer provider 140. In some cases, the consumer may notyet have an identifier and may simply request to purchase a good orservice from a consumer provider 140. For instance, the consumer maywish to purchase phone time from a certain phone company. In such cases,the consumer makes a request to purchase phone time from a certainconsumer provider 140. This information is entered into POS device 110.POS device 110 may then display payment options for that provider asreceived from payment provider control 130. For example, payment inincrements of $5, $10, $25 and $50 may be accepted. Upon receipt ofpayment, an identifier is issued to the consumer. Conveniently, aprinter 110 may print a receipt with the identifier.

At the time of payment, other funds may also be collected. For example,the payment provider may charge and collect a fee for its services. Asanother example, applicable taxes may be calculated and collected. Thesetaxes may be calculated by payment provider control 130 in combinationwith database 135 and may include tax tables for various locationsthroughout the country. When tendering payment, the consumer may provideinformation on his residential address, such as a zip code. Thisinformation is transmitted to payment provider control 130 that performsa look-up in database 135 to determine the appropriate tax rate. Paymentprovider control 130 then computes the tax and sends the tax informationto computer 308. The payment amount, taxes, and any service fees maythen be displayed to the consumer on a display screen. Alternatively,the taxes may be computed directly by POS device 110 and based on thelocation of POS device 110, or in part by POS device 110 and in part bypayment provider control 130.

Upon tendering payment, an electronic record of the payment along withthe associated identifier is created and transmitted to payment providercontrol 130 where it may be stored in database 135. This paymentinformation may also be transmitted to consumer provider control 140 sothat the good or service may be provided to the consumer. If theservices relate to telecommunications, the payment information may alsobe sent from payment provider control 130 to a switch 150 to permit thecommunications service to be promptly provided. For example, if theconsumer purchased cell phone time, the consumer provider's switch wouldreceive the payment information and add time to the phone, typicallybefore the consumer leaves the location where payment is made. Ofcourse, the instructions to the switch could also be sent from theconsumer provider as well. Receipt of payment information may alsotrigger the providing of other services, such as service activation,shipping of order goods, and the like. In some cases, the service maynot be activated or the order good provided until the consumer contactsthe consumer provider and gives the issued identifier. For example,phone time may be purchased, but not activated until the phone companyis contacted and given the identifier. When the good is a stored value,this record may be stored in database 135 and transmitted to consumerprovider control 140. When a good or service is ordered from a consumerprovider, the identifier is presented to the consumer provider control140 associated with the consumer provider and the stored value accountis debited for the purchase price.

Payment provider control 130 may also be used to electronically transferthe payment along with any collected taxes to the consumer provider.This may conveniently occur by an ACH transfer of funds into a bankaccount 160 of the consumer provider. This may occur upon receipt of thepayment information by payment provider control 130 or by batch mode atspecified times. A record of the deposit may separately be transmittedto consumer provider control 140. Payment provider control 130 isconfigured to communicate with a separate ACH system that debits theaccount of the consumer and credits the account of the consumer provideras is known in the art.

Hence, system 100 provides consumers with an easy way to purchase goodsor services. Further, such goods and services are provided in anefficient manner and provides rapid payment to the consumer provider.Another feature of system 100 is that consumer provider may also beprovided with access to payment provider control 130. In this way, theconsumer provider may do a look-up to see if a payment was postedcorrectly, to see the status of a payment or the like. Further, regularupdates may be sent from consumer provider control 140 to paymentprovider control 130 so that consumer accounts may be kept current.

In yet other instances, system 100 can be used to enroll consumers inproducts and/or services offered by one or more consumer providers. Insuch a situation, POS device 110 can display product offeringsassociated with one or more consumer providers. Such information can beobtained from payment provider control 130. Further, POS device 110 cangather enrollment information and payments for enrollment, and based oninformation provided by payment provider control 130, can provideconsumers with activated accounts for goods and services provided from aparticular consumer provider. These and other features of system 100 arediscussed in greater detail below.

Referring to FIG. 2, another embodiment of system 100 is illustratedincluding discussion of additional elements. As shown, system 100includes payment provider control 130 for facilitating payment from aconsumer 190 to one or more consumer providers represented by consumerprovider controls 140.

Each consumer 190 has a unique ID 180, which can comprise any suitableidentifier. Conventional identifiers such as name, social securitynumber, PIN, etc. are acceptable. Moreover, system 100 can accommodateanonymous consumers 190. Such consumers 190 can maintain their anonymityby creating their own IDs 180. ID 180 can also comprise the consumer'stelephone number. Thus, system 100 can be used for paying for telephoneservices using only the telephone number of consumer 190 foridentification purposes. Consumer 190 in this embodiment does not evenhave to provide an address or any other personal information. Similaridentification arrangements could be used with other consumer providers(e.g., accepting payments on accounts with the consumers identified bytheir respective account numbers). Consumer 190 interfaces with paymentprovider control 130 through an interface 12. Interface 12 can compriseany suitable form or device for communications, including telephone(which can incorporate voice recognition (VR)), worldwide web(Internet), mail, in-person, a point-of-sale (POS) terminal with a cardreader, e-mail or any other suitable interface. As with the previousembodiments, Interface 12 can be a POS device 110. Further, in someembodiments, such a POS device 110 can be installed at a retail outletunrelated to any of various consumer provider controls 140 and/orpayment provider controls 130 accessible via system 100.

In this particular embodiment, payment provider control 130 includes anagent network 160, where agents in the network provide POS devices 110at locations accessible to consumer 190. Payment provider control 130maintains consumer provider accounts 175 which can correspond to thevarious consumer providers represented by consumer provider controls140. Each consumer provider control 140 can have associated therewith adatabase 145 containing pertinent information regarding the consumers190 and their respective accounts. The designation of accounts,sub-accounts, master accounts, etc. can vary from consumer provider toconsumer provider. Thus, as used herein the terms account, sub-accountand similar terms can designate either the entire account base of aparticular consumer provider control 140, or the individual account ofconsumer(s) 190.

In one embodiment, agent network 160 comprises a host computer (notshown) that may be accessed by a variety of remote computers or otherdevices, such as those described in connection with interface 12. Forexample, the host computer may comprise a mainframe computer, a servercomputer, or the like. A database may also be associated with the hostcomputer. In this way, information from consumer databases 145 may betransmitted to the host computer and stored in the database. When aconsumer 190 contacts agent network 160, it may be through the hostcomputer. Hence, with this configuration, a consumer may proceed with atransaction using interface 12 which contacts the host computer of agentnetwork 160 to receive consumer information, such as the uniqueidentifier, and to transmit payment information back to the hostcomputer. The host computer may also serve to coordinate a wire transferof the payment to a bank account of the consumer provider as well as totransmit payment information to consumer provider control of theconsumer provider. Electronic funds transfers may conveniently be madethrough an automated clearing house (ACH) system that is contacted bythe host computer. ACH transfers are well known within the art and willnot be described further.

FIGS. 2–14 illustrate a variety of methods in accordance with thepresent invention and to which embodiments of system 100 can be applied.It should be recognized that in various of the methods, a card 170 canbe issued to consumer 190 and include various information relevant toconsumer transactions. Card 170 can be used to facilitate payments viaPOS device 110. More particularly, card 170 can include a magneticstripe that can be swiped through a card reader associated with POSdevice 110 and used to identify consumer 190 to system 100. Eitheralternatively or in addition, card 170 can comprise a reloadable/storedvalue card, a credit card, a debit card, or the like. Thus, any suitablecard configuration can be utilized. For example, preprinted cards withconcealed consumer IDs 180 can be inventoried with the agent network 160for distribution upon enrollment of consumers 190. However, system 100can function without any cards whatsoever. In such embodiments, system100 can function by assigning unique consumer IDs 180 for purposes ofconducting all payment transactions.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a flow diagram 300 illustrates a method inaccordance with the present invention of enrolling consumers to purchasegoods and/or services offered by a consumer provider. As illustrated,the method can be implemented by a payment provider utilizing paymentprovider control 130 in communication with POS device 110. Followingflow diagram 300, an enrollment system is provided at a payment provider(block 302). Such an enrollment system can include a POS device 110capable of communicating with either or both of a payment providercontrol 130 and a consumer provider control 140.

Thus, for example, in some embodiments, POS device 110 can act to enrollconsumers, while directly accessing consumer provider control 140associated with the consumer provider offering the good or service intowhich the consumer is being enrolled. Alternatively, in someembodiments, POS device 110 acts to enroll consumers by accessingpayment provider control 130. Payment provider control 130 is enabledwith information from consumer provider control 140 sufficient to allowenrollment of consumers in goods and/or services offered by the consumerprovider associated with consumer provider control 140. For simplicity,flow diagram 300 is described in relation to a system where a POS device110 communicates with a payment provider control 130. Based on thisdescription, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate how toimplement such an enrollment system, where POS device 110 communicatesdirectly with consumer provider control 140.

Providing the enrollment system can include selling a POS device 110 toa merchant and enabling the merchant to consummate enrollmenttransactions via POS device 110. In other embodiments, providing theenrollment system can include a merchant purchasing an off-the-shelfsolution to act as POS device 110, associating the merchant with apayment provider, and enabling the off-the-shelf solution to consummateenrollment transactions. This is a particularly useful approach wherethe off-the-shelf solution is a PC, or the like. Enabling the merchantto consummate enrollment transactions can include providing software forexecution on POS device 110 and/or access identification codes to themerchant.

Goods and/or services offered by one or more consumer providers can bedisplayed via a display associated with POS device 110 (block 304). Insome embodiments, goods and services available from a particularconsumer provider are displayed on a series of integrated displayscreens, while goods and services from another consumer provider aredisplayed on another series of integrated screens. Thus, a consumer cannavigate the offerings by first selecting a consumer provider. In oneparticular embodiment, directly competing products are not displayed viathe same POS device 110.

In other embodiments, related goods and services, even directlycompeting goods and services, are displayed on a series of integrateddisplay screens. Thus, a consumer can navigate the offerings byselecting a particular type of good or service. For example, a consumermay request to view all cell phone service providers. From a series ofdisplays providing information associated with the available cell phoneproviders, a consumer can identify and select a consumer provider andproduct thereof that best matches the consumer's needs and priceconstraints.

In particular embodiments, a consumer may request information aboutother goods or services related to the previously displayed good orservice. This request is received by POS device 110 (block 306), andanother related good or service can be obtained (block 308) anddisplayed on POS device 110 (block 304). Information about related goodsand services can be obtained by accessing payment provider control 130via network 120. This process of requesting related goods and servicescan be repeated until no additional goods or services remain fordisplay. Any relationship can be devised for choosing the next relatedgood or service for display. For example, another good or serviceoffered by the same or a non-competing consumer provider can bedisplayed. Alternatively, goods and services can be linked by classes,such as, all computer products.

Yet further, the goods and services can be presented in an order thatlimits the number of directly competing products that are displayed. Forexample, all products from a particular consumer provider can first bedisplayed, and only after display of those products are a competingconsumer provider's products displayed. Thus, the system provides theability to display competing products, but only after the consumerprovider initially chosen has been exhausted. This acts to protect thebrands of consumer providers allowing access through the enrollmentsystem of the payment provider. As yet another alternative, competingproducts may not be displayed to the same consumer. Thus, whilecompeting products may be available for enrollment through the system,once one product is displayed to a particular consumer, a directlycompeting product will not be presented to the same consumer. As a moreparticular example, where a consumer asks to see a good offered by afirst consumer provider, a rule set for goods that cannot be shown tothe same consumer is implemented, thus preventing the consumer fromaccessing goods excluded by the rule set.

In some embodiments, the consumer can enter a request for additionalinformation about a particular good or service. This request is receivedby POS device 10 (block 310), and POS device 110 accesses and displaysthe requested information (block 312). In some embodiments, thisinformation is provided by accessing payment provider control 130. Inother embodiments, this information can be provided by direct access toconsumer provider control 140. The information can be that developed bythe consumer provider offering the goods or services, or third partyinformation related to the goods or services. For example, theinformation can be reliability information, such as that provided byconsumer reports. As yet another example, the information can bewarranty information for a warranty offered by a third party in relationto the good or service. Based on this description, one of ordinary skillin the art will recognize a number of other information types useful inrelation to the present invention. Such information can be maintained ondatabase 135 and/or accessed from another source.

After the good or service information is provided, POS device 110 pollsto determine if a particular good or service has been requested (block314). If POS device 110 has remained in an idle or inactive state for apredetermined period of time, POS device 110 reverts to the originallydisplayed product and/or entry screen (block 316). This original screenis again displayed via POS device 110 in anticipation of access by asubsequent consumer (block 304).

Where a request to enroll in a particular good or service is received(block 314), POS device displays a request to the consumer for requiredenrollment information (block 318). As an example, such enrollmentinformation can include the name address and telephone number of aconsumer desiring to set up an account with an electric company. It willbe appreciated that any level of information can be requested dependingupon the type of good or service requested. Further, in someembodiments, POS device 110 provides the capability to automaticallypopulate such information. For example, such information may bemaintained on a magnetic stripe card that can be swiped through POSdevice 110. Alternatively, the consumer may have a previous account withthe same or another consumer provider and be known to payment providercontrol 130. In such a situation, the consumer merely needs to beidentified and authenticated to POS device 110, after which any relevantinformation can be obtained and provided in relation to the presentenrollment. Based on this discussion, one of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize a number of other possibilities for obtaining enrollmentinformation.

Along with providing the necessary enrollment information, if any, theconsumer tenders payment for the good or service (block 320). Thispayment can be an entire payment for the goods, which can be thereaftersent to an address provided by the consumer, or any other appropriatepayment. For example, the payment can be for an initial period of cellphone usage. It should be appreciated that the payment will be in partdictated by the requested good or service and the level of security theconsumer provider requires in relation to a particular consumer. Thus,for example, a particular consumer may have very poor credit or nocredit, in which case the consumer provider may require full paymentprior to supplying the good or service. In some embodiments, paymentprovider control 130 maintains credit information about consumers, orhas the ability to access such credit information from other sourcesincluding, but not limited to, consumer provider control 140.

Once the funds have been received (block 320), an account number isassigned to the consumer (block 322). The account number can be obtainedfrom payment provider control 130, or from a block of account numberspreviously assigned to POS device 110. The account number can be updatedto both the consumer provider (block 326) and to the consumer (block324). In some embodiments, the account information is provided to theconsumer by printing a receipt with the account number, and otherrelated information including payment information thereon. The consumerprovider can be updated by providing the enrollment information from theconsumer along with the account number from POS device 110 to paymentprovider control 130. Sometime later, the payment, if any, for therequested good or service is deposited in a bank account associated withthe consumer provider.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a flow diagram 301 illustrates another method inaccordance with the present invention of enrolling consumers to purchasegoods and/or services offered by a consumer provider. Following flowdiagram 301, a service is provided to a consumer utilizing a POS device110 at a merchant location (block 303). Such a service can includepurchase of a money order, payment of a utility bill, effectuating amoney transfer, payment for a good or service offered by the merchant,or the like.

With the consumer interacting with POS device 110, it is predictivelydetermined what type of goods and/or services to market to the consumer(block 305). Such a predictive determination can include identifyinggoods or services related to the transaction previously performed usingPOS device 110. For example, the consumer may be purchasing a cellphone, in which case POS device 110 can advertise a cell phone chargerto the consumer or cell phone service offered by one or more consumerproviders. Alternatively, the consumer may be paying an electric bill,in which case POS device 110 can advertise payment services for localwater companies. Yet further, where a driver's license nearingexpiration is used to authenticate a transaction, POS device 110 canadvertise driver's license renewal services where the consumer provideris the state issuing the driver's license.

As yet another example, where a consumer is setting up service with anelectric company, POS device 110 can surmise that the consumer recentlymoved. In such a circumstance POS device 110 may advertise otherservices useful to a person that recently moved. For example, POS device110 can advertise voter registration, enrollment with other utilitycompanies, applications for a driver's license, new license plates, andother similar goods and services.

Alternatively, or in addition, POS device 110 and/or payment providercontrol 130 may maintain a historical record of transactions performedin relation to a particular consumer. This historical information can beanalyzed to determine which goods or services that the consumer would bemost likely receptive. Further, the information can be analyzed todetermine goods and services for which the consumer is qualified. Forexample, it may be determined that a consumer consistently purchases agood that is offered in a larger quantity directly from a consumerprovider at a reduced price. One of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate a number of other analysis that may be used to predict goodsor services to be marketed to a particular consumer.

The determined good or service is displayed to the consumer via POSdevice 110 (block 307). POS device 110 can then act to enroll theconsumer in the determined good or service. In some embodiments, theparticular good or service is related to a group of goods and/orservices that may also be displayed upon request of the consumer. Thus,the consumer can navigate the offerings by first viewing the determinedgood or service, and later requesting information about similar or otherrelated goods and services. In one particular embodiment, directlycompeting products are not displayed. Thus, for example, goods that aredirectly competitive with the good or service that was the subject ofthe initial transaction (block 303) may not be presented to theconsumer. Again, this helps to maintain brand value associated withvarious consumer providers offering enrollment via the payment provider.

In some embodiments, the consumer can enter a request for additionalinformation about a particular good or service (block 309). In responseto this request, POS device 110 accesses and displays the requestedinformation (block 311). In some embodiments, this information isprovided by accessing payment provider control 130. As with the previousembodiment, the information can be that developed by the consumerprovider offering the goods or services, or third party informationrelated to the goods or services. Such information can be maintained ondatabase 135 and/or accessed from another source.

After the good or service information is provided, POS device 110 pollsto determine if a particular good or service has been requested (block313). If POS device 110 has remained in an idle or inactive state for apre-determined period of time, POS device 110 reverts to the originallydisplayed product and/or entry screen (block 315). This original screenis again displayed via POS device 110 in anticipation of access by asubsequent consumer (block 307).

Where a request to enroll in a particular good or service is received(block 313), POS device 110 displays a request to the consumer forrequired enrollment information (block 317). Such enrollment informationcan be similar and gathered in similar fashion to that discussed in thepreceding embodiment.

Along with providing the necessary enrollment information, if any, theconsumer tenders payment for the good or service (block 319). As withthe previous embodiment, this payment can be an entire payment for thegoods, which will then be sent to an address provided by the consumer,or any other appropriate payment.

Similar to the previous embodiment, once the funds have been received(block 319), an account number is assigned to the consumer (block 321).The account number can be obtained from payment provider control 130, orfrom a block of account numbers previously assigned to POS device 110.The account number can be updated to both the consumer provider (block325) and to the consumer (block 323).

In some embodiments of the methods illustrated in flow diagrams 300, 301include an additional step of creating a client database. Such a clientdatabase can be the database used by a particular consumer provider toaccount for services and/or products provided in relation to consumers.Further, such a database can include identifiers unique to each of theconsumers within the database as well as account balances and credithistories of each of the consumers. Such a database can be formatted fortransfer to payment provider control 130. By transferring at least aportion of the information on the database to payment provider control130, consumers in the consumer provider's database can automatically beenrolled with the payment provider. The consumers can also be notifiedof the enrollment and directed to the nearest payment providerlocation(s) at which they can make payments.

Turning to FIGS. 4, embodiments of the present invention can be used,either additionally or exclusively, to accept and process payments inrelation to various goods and services provided by consumer providers.Referring to FIG. 4A, a flow diagram 400 illustrates one method ofaccepting payments in accordance with the present invention. Followingflow diagram 400, information about the consumer desiring to make apayment is input to POS device 110 (block 402). Such information can bevery minimal, such as, an auction number and payment amount where theconsumer desires to remain anonymous. Alternatively, the information canbe an identifier previously provided by the consumer provider toidentify payments made by the consumer. In other situations, theinformation can be quite extensive including, but not limited to, theconsumer's name, address, telephone number and account number for theaccount of the consumer provider to which a payment is to be applied.Based on this disclosure, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate the information that can be collected from a consumer to makea payment on a particular account.

In some embodiments, the information can be provided to POS device 110automatically. For example, the information can be entered using amagnetic stripe card reader associated with POS device 110.Alternatively, a small amount of information about the consumer can beentered via a keyboard associated with POS device 130 and the remainderof the information about the consumer automatically populated fromdatabase 135 via payment provider 130.

Once the consumer information has been provided, the information is usedto identify and verify the consumer (block 404). In some embodiments,this includes displaying the received information via a displayassociated with POS device 110. The consumer is then expected to reviewthe information for accuracy, and press a key indicating that theinformation is complete. In other embodiments, identifying and verifyingthe consumer includes accessing payment provider control 130, andcomparing the identification information received from the consumeragainst information maintained on database 135. The informationmaintained on database 135 can include account balances for the consumerrelated to one or more consumer providers, as well as other information.

In one particular embodiment, the consumer is identified and in additionprovides a consumer provider identification via POS device 110. Thisinformation is transferred to payment provider control 130 via network120. Payment provider control 130 accesses the account informationassociated with the consumer and transfers the account information toPOS device 110 where it is displayed to the consumer via a displayand/or a printed receipt. Thus, in some embodiments, it is possible fora consumer to obtain account information related to one or more consumerproviders from a payment provider.

After the consumer is identified and verified, the consumer tenderspayment to the payment provider (block 406). This can be done by handingcash to a merchant operating POS device 110, by swiping a credit cardthrough a magnetic stripe card reader associated with POS device 110, byauthorizing a bank transfer using POS device 110, or any other method oftendering payment. Once the payment is received, POS device 110transfers an indication that payment was received and the amount ofreceived payment to payment provider control 130 via network 120. Insome embodiments, payment provider control 130 responds via network 120with an indication that the payment was received. POS device 110 alsoprints a receipt for the consumer (block 408). The receipt can include avariety of information, such as, the account for which payment wasreceived, the amount of the payment, and even advertisements.

In embodiments where payment provider control 130 maintains informationrelated to the consumer's account, the amount of the received payment iscredited to the account. Payment provider control 130 credits thepayment to the associated consumer provider (block 410). This can bedone by wire transfer from the payment provider to a bank accountassociated with the consumer provider. Other methods may also be used toeffectuate such a transfer. In addition, payment provider control 130provides a notification of payments and associated accounts to consumerprovider control 140 via network 120 (block 412). In turn, consumerprovider control 140 updates the account balance of the consumer fromwhich the payment was received.

In particular embodiments, the processes listed in block 410 areperformed sometime after the processes listed in block 412. Thus, forexample, a consumer may make a payment, and shortly thereafter thepayment is reflected on their account with the consumer provider. Then,sometime later, the funds associated with the payment are actuallytransferred to the consumer provider.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing discussion, such an approachto accepting and processing payments provides a number of advantages. Asjust one of the advantages, an unbanked consumer can make cash paymentson an account with a consumer provider remote from the consumer. Thus, aconsumer no longer needs to send cash through the mail. As yet anotheradvantage, a consumer that consistently states that “the check is in themail” can be directed to a payment provider location near them to makethe necessary payment. Thus, the aforementioned systems and methods canavoid the check is in the mail syndrome. Further, a consumer thatdesires to purchase goods, but would like to remain anonymous, cantender a cash payment via the payment provider, and thus avoid beingtraced by credit card or check information. Further, such methods can beused to make multiple payments across multiple consumer providers. Thus,a consumer need only enter a single transaction to pay a number ofbills. Yet further, a consumer that is nearly late in paying can go to alocal payment provider, tender payment, and have the payment immediatelycredited to their account, thus avoiding any late fees. Moreparticularly, a consumer with a credit card bill due the next day canavoid late fees, or the necessity of sending payment via an overnightexpress service, by using a payment provider where the credit cardcompany is affiliated with and accepts payment via the payment provider.Based on the disclosure herein, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize a myriad of other advantages associated with the systems andmethods disclosed herein.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a flow diagram 401 illustrates another method ofaccepting payments in accordance with the present invention. Followingflow diagram 401, information about the consumer desiring to make apayment is input to POS device 110 (block 403). As with the previousembodiment, the information obtained from the consumer depends upon thetransaction being completed and can be determined by the consumerprovider and/or the payment provider.

Once the consumer information has been provided, the information is usedto identify and verify the consumer (block 405). This identification andverification is similar to that discussed in relation to FIG. 4A. Afterthe consumer is identified and verified, the consumer tenders payment tothe payment provider (block 406), again, similar to the manner discussedin relation to FIG. 4A.

Once the payment is received, POS device 110 transfers an indicationthat payment was received and the amount of received payment to paymentprovider control 130 via network 120. In some embodiments, paymentprovider control 130 responds via network 120 with an indication thatthe payment was received. Payment provider control 130 credits thereceived payment to the consumer provider (block 415), and provides anidentifier, or PIN, to the consumer (block 417). The PIN is unique tothe payment. Thus, a block of funds can be transferred to the consumerproviders, with portions of the funds being associated with variousPINs. In some embodiments, at this point in the method, the consumerprovider is not aware of which consumers the funds are attributable.

POS device 110 also prints a receipt for the consumer (block 409). Thereceipt can include a variety of information, such as, the account forwhich payment was received, the amount of the payment, and evenadvertisements. In particular embodiments, the receipt includes anidentification number, or PIN, that is unique to the received payment.

The consumer can then contact the consumer provider directly and providethe PIN (block 411). With this information, the consumer provider canverify that the PIN is valid and that a payment was received inassociation with the PIN. The amount of the payment associated with thePIN can then be credited to the consumer's account (block 413).

As previously mentioned, promotions can be presented to the consumer asthe consumer interacts with the payment provider via POS device 110.FIG. 5 includes a flow diagram 500 illustrating one method in accordancewith the present invention for presenting promotions to consumers.Following flow diagram 500, a payment is received from a consumer for agood or service which the payment provider is enabled to receivepayments (block 505). The good or service for which the payment wasreceived is used as the basis for determining other, non-competingproducts and/or services to promote to the consumer (block 507). It willbe appreciated that other information can also be used to form the basisfor determining additional promotions. In some embodiments, theadditional promotions are determined by payment provider control 130 anddownloaded to POS device 110 via network 120. In this embodiment, careis taken to avoid promoting goods and/or services that directly competewith the transaction effectuated in block 505. In this way, consumerproviders are not dissuaded from affiliating with the payment provider.

Once the promotion is determined (block 507), it is printed on thereceipt provided to the consumer in relation to the previously completedtransaction (block 509). Data associated with the consumer, such as,purchasing habit data is associated with the coupon (block 511) and thecoupon impression is tabulated (block 513). The tabulated couponimpression, and in some instances the associated consumer data, ischarged to the consumer provider associated with the presentedpromotion.

Next, where the coupon is later redeemed by the consumer for theassociated good or service (block 515), data associated with theconsumer is associated with the redeemed coupon (block 517) and thecoupon redemption is tabulated (block 519). As with the tabulated couponimpressions, the tabulated redemptions are charged to the consumerprovider associated with the redemptions.

At some point, both the tabulated redemptions and impressions arebatched for transfer to the associated consumer provider (block 521).Such batching can be accomplished by payment provider control 130. Thebatched information is transferred to the consumer provider (block 523).The transfer can be effectuated across network 120 from payment providercontrol 130 to consumer provider control 140. Upon transfer of theinformation, a charge is also provided to the consumer provider inrelation to the redemptions and impressions (block 525). The charge canbe automatically deducted from payments collected by the paymentprovider from consumers in relation to goods and services provided bythe consumer provider. Alternatively, the charge can be provided as aninvoice with the expectation that the consumer provider will later honorthe invoice.

Additionally, in various embodiments of the present invention, repeatconsumers can be automatically rewarded via payment provider control130. Referring to FIG. 6, a flow diagram 600 illustrates an embodimentin accordance with the present invention for providing repeat consumerawards. Following flow diagram 600, an interval is set defining whatlevel of account activity qualifies for repeat discounts (block 610).The interval can be set such that if, for example, five payments aremade on time with a consumer provider providing a particular service,then the fifth service period is provided at a ten percent discount.This allows a consumer provider, such as, for example, an electricutility to provide immediate gratification to consumers to encourageprompt payment for service. While such a discount scheme is useful to autility, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number ofother applications and/or approaches to apply the method.

The interval is provided to payment provider control 130 as a number “N”(block 615). A count (“CPC”) is maintained in association with eachconsumer account and is initially set to zero indicating that notransactions have been tallied yet (block 620). When a consumer makes apayment via the payment provider (block 625), payment provider control130 increments the CPC (e.g., CPC+1) (block 630).

If the CPC equals the interval count N (block 635), then paymentprovider control 130 provides an indication to POS device 110 that theconsumer is due an immediate discount and the amount thereof (block640). A congratulatory message is displayed by POS device 110 (block645), and the amount tendered from the consumer is either reduced or arefund is provided to reflect the discount. A receipt reflecting thetransaction including the discount can be printed by POS device 110 forthe consumer. In addition, the CPC for the consumer is reset to zero(block 620). Alternatively, where the CPC is less than the intervalcount N (block 635), no discount is offered, but rather the CPC count ismaintained and the next payment is awaited (block (625).

Referring to FIG. 7, a cross selling method in accordance with thepresent invention is described in relation to a flow diagram 700. Apayment provider enrolls a consumer (block 705). As part of enrollingthe new consumer, a welcome screen is displayed via POS device 110(block 710). In addition to the welcome message, one or more additionalgoods or services can be presented to the consumer via POS device 110(block 715). The additional services can be provided by the sameconsumer provider with which the consumer was originally enrolled, adifferent consumer provider, or even the payment provider. However, insome embodiments, it is desirable not to promote goods or servicescompeting with similar goods or services from the original consumerprovider.

For example, other related money-transfer services of the paymentprovider can be promoted to the consumer (block 720), Internet-basedservices (block 725), and/or direct telephone contact services (block730) associated with the payment provider can be promoted. The consumercan be enrolled in any of these additional services and to that end,consumer enrollment information is obtained in relation to the enrolledgood or service (block 735). Then, in some embodiments, additional goodsor services related to the enrollment of block 735 can be promoted(block 740).

Referring to FIG. 8, a transaction metering method in accordance withthe present invention is described in relation to a flow diagram 800.Following flow diagram 800, a transaction counter is initiated (block805) and a first transaction associated with a consumer's account isregistered (block 810). A last transaction is logged (block 815) and arunning log of time elapsed since the last transaction (corresponding toan inactivity period) is maintained (block 820). If the accruedinactivity period is greater than a preset limit (block 825), then theconsumer's account is declared inactive and retired (block 830).

Alternatively, if the accrued activity period is less than the presetlimit (block 825), the account is maintained and track transactionrecurrences (block 835), as well as, retentions are monitored (block840) in relation to the maintained account. In addition, futuremarketing and rebate programs are metered (block 845) with the recordsbeing provided to a consumer provider (block 850). Such records can beused as an adjunct to the consumer provider's database.

Referring to FIG. 9, a card reimbursement method in accordance with thepresent invention is described in relation to a flow diagram 900. Insome embodiments, a consumer provider pays the initial costs of settingup accounts with various consumers. Over time, these costs are recoupedby the payment provider, and a refund of the initial costs, or a portionthereof is provided back to the consumer provider. For example, in somesituations, consumer provider may be required to pre-pay for all storedvalue cards issued in relationship to enrolling its consumers with thepayment provider.

Following flow diagram 900, an interval, or number of transactions, isset to control the number of transactions that are to occur before arebate is granted (block 905). Consumers are also enrolled with thepayment provider using any method including those discussed in relationto FIGS. 3 (block 910). Upon enrollment, a card can be printed andprovided to the consumer (block 915). The card can be a stored valuecard, an identification card, a frequent purchaser card, or any type ofcard. Upon issuing the card, the consumer provider to which the card isattributed is charged for enrolling the consumer (block 920). Such acharge can be made against payments tendered to the payment provider foraccounts held by the consumer provider. Such a process of debiting canproceed automatically between payment provider control 130 and consumerprovider control 140 at set settlement periods. In particularembodiments, the charge covers marketing and other processes related toenrollment, while in other embodiments, the charge is simply for thecosts of providing a card.

The number of transactions (NT) for the enrolled consumer is initializedto zero (block 925). Thereafter, the transaction count NT is incrementedupon completion of each transaction with the consumer (blocks 930, 935).Once the number of transactions equals the predetermined limit set inblock 905 (block 940), the costs associated with enrollment are rebatedto the consumer provider (block 945).

Referring to FIG. 10, a method according to the present invention ofaccepting and processing multiple payments in a single transaction isillustrated as a flow diagram 1000. Following flow diagram 1000, one ormore consumer providers identify goods and/or services for which theywould like to receive payment via the payment provider (block 1010). Forexample, a consumer provider of telecommunications services mightprovide various products such as prepaid dialtone, prepaid cellular,prepaid internet access and insurance. All of these products can beprovided on a single card. The payment provider then charges a premiumfee for accepting the products into its system (block 1020). In somecases, this fee is added to the listed goods and services and recoupedon a transactional basis. In other embodiments, this fee is a one timefee charged to the consumer provider, or a transactional fee charged tothe consumer provider. Destination codes can be assigned to the variousgoods and services making it capable to credit and access the properconsumer provider (block 1030). In addition, a custom screen can becreated for presenting the goods and services to the consumer via POSdevice 110 (block 1040). Such display information can be maintained ondatabase 135 and accessed in real time by POS device 110, thus allowingfor global modifications to the display information through access topayment provider control 130.

The various goods and services are displayed on a screen (block 1050).In some embodiments, this can include all goods and services for whichpayment can be accepted. The consumer initiates a payment by selectingone or more goods and/or services received by the consumer (block 1060).In some embodiments, this is done manually by having the consumer stepthrough one or more display screens to identify all of the desired goodsor services. In other embodiments, this can be done automatically byidentifying the consumer via POS device 110 and transferring theidentification information to payment provider control 130. In turn,payment provider control 130 accesses all possible accounts associatedwith the identified consumer and provides a listing of all accounts toPOS device 110. POS device 110 can then intelligently display aselection option to allow a consumer to select the accounts on which topay. Based on this discussion, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize other options for allowing a consumer to choose accounts onwhich to pay.

The consumer then indicates the amount to pay on each of the goods orservices chosen (block 1080). After choosing the goods and services andselecting an amount to pay on each, the aggregate amount is tendered.The aggregated amount is then disbursed by payment provider control 130to the various consumer providers and/or products thereof to whichportions of the aggregated payment are attributable.

Flow diagram 1100 of FIG. 11 illustrates a consumer provider specificenrollment methodology, as contrasted with a generic enrollmentprocedure. Following flow diagram 1100, the consumer provider developsadvertising which identifies the payment provider as accepting paymentsassociated with the consumer provider (block 1110). Such advertising candirect consumers to the payment provider for both payment and enrollmentpurposes. Consumers are then enrolled by the payment provider usingvarious methods including those previously discussed (block 1120). Theconsumer can be either a present or prospective consumer of the consumerprovider's goods or services. Either or both of the payment provider andthe consumer select the features and pricing desired by the consumer andoffered by the consumer provider for the consumer provider's products(block 1130). An account number can optionally be assigned on behalf ofthe consumer provider by the payment service provider (block 1150). Inaddition, payment can be tendered from the consumer to the paymentprovider acting on behalf of the consumer provider (block 1140).

Referring to FIG. 12, one method for pre-paying for a good or service isdescribed in relation to flow diagram 1200. As illustrated by flowdiagram 1200, a consumer enrolls with a consumer provider to order agood or a service (block 1220). For example, services that may beordered include phone service, including phone minutes, a stored valueservice, and the like. Goods that may be purchased include essentiallyany type of good including retail items, clothing, furniture, sportinggoods, cosmetics, toiletries, durable goods, vehicles and the like.

When such an enrollment is requested, the consumer provider creates anelectronic account to maintain a record of payments and supplied goodsand/or services provided to the consumer. Such an account can bemaintained in database 145 of the consumer provider control 140associated with the particular consumer provider. The account may alsoinclude a historical record of the consumer's behavior, and any otherrelevant information. In some instances, an enrollment may only be forone particular purchase, while in other cases an enrollment may beintended for a longer period and anticipate multiple or ongoingpurchases.

In addition, a unique identifier is also associated with the account andincluded in the record to uniquely identify the request. This identifiermay be any type of identifier as previously described, including phonenumbers, order numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers andthe like. In some instances where only a one-time purchase is to berecorded, the identifier is specific to the single transaction. However,in other instances, the identifier can be intended to designate theconsumer in any number of future transactions. In yet other instances,the identifier can designate both the consumer in ongoing transactionsand designate a particular transaction. Thus, for example, theidentifier may include a portion unique the consumer and reused acrossmultiple transactions, and another portion designating a particulartransaction.

The identifier is provided to the consumer along with instructions as towhere a payment may be made. The instructions indicate a location of aPOS device 110 associated with a payment provider control 130 capable ofaccepting payments for the particular consumer provider. In someembodiments, the consumer provider may access an affiliated paymentprovider control 130 via its consumer provider control 140 to requestlocation information for a POS device 110 that is convenient to theconsumer. In one particular embodiment, the consumer's address isprovided along with the request for location information. Based on thisaddress information, payment provider control 130 identifies the nearestfive POS devices 110 and provides this information to consumer providercontrol 140. In turn, the received location information is shared withthe consumer.

After the consumer is enrolled (block 1220), the identifier iselectronically sent from consumer provider control 140 to paymentprovider control 130 where it is stored in database 135 (block 1222).Relevant account information is also provided to payment providercontrol 130, such that a consumer's account may be properly debitedand/or credited by payment provider control 130. When ready to make thepayment, the consumer goes to one of the previously indicated locations(or another location if the consumer so desires) and provides theidentifier via the POS device 110 at the location (block 1224). Afterentry of the identifier, POS device 110 transmits the identifier topayment provider control 130. Payment provider control 130 accesses theconsumer's account based on the identifier, determines the amount to betendered from the consumer, and returns this determined amount to POSdevice 110. The amount is then displayed on POS device 110 where it canbe viewed by either or both of a merchant and the consumer. Thedetermined amount can be displayed along with any other fees associatedwith the transaction.

The consumer then tenders payment to the merchant, or automatically viaPOS device 110 where such capability is provided. Upon tendering ofpayment (block 1224), the amount of payment tendered is provided topayment provider control 130 via POS device 110. This paymentinformation is used to create an electronic record of the payment (block1226). This payment information is then sent to consumer provider 140associated with the consumer provider (block 1228). In the case of acommunications service, this information may also be sent to a switch(block 1230). This information can then be used by the switch toimmediately add time to a cell phone account or provide othertelecommunications features rendered by the switch.

A sum equal to the payment (and in some cases less a transaction feecharged to the consumer provider) is electronically wired to a bankaccount of the consumer provider (block 1232). In some instances, theconsumer provider proceeds to fulfill the purchase of the consumer priorto receipt of the wire transfer. Alternatively, in other embodiments,the consumer provider is notified that the payment has been received bypayment provider control 130, upon which the consumer provider continuesto fulfill the consumer's purchase. Some time later, the wire transferis completed. To fulfill the consumer's purchase, an ordered good may bepulled from inventory and shipped to the consumer or other recipient.Alternatively, a stored value account may be credited upon notificationof payment.

Referring to FIG. 13, yet another payment method in accordance with thepresent invention is described in relation to flow diagram 1300. Thismethod is particularly useful in prepaying from some type of storedvalue card, without requiring the issuance of a physical card. In thisway, an identification number may be used to “store” a stored value. Forexample, a consumer may purchase a stored value of phone time that isassociated with an identifier. This identifier may then be presented tophone company to add calling time to a phone.

As illustrated by flow diagram 1300, a consumer provider sends a blockof one or more identifiers to a payment provider (block 1334). In someembodiments, this is done by electronically transmitting the block ofidentifiers from a consumer provider control 140 associated with theconsumer provider to the payment provider control 130 associated withthe payment provider where they are stored in database 135. Such atransfer can be initiated once when the payment provider is initiallyaffiliated with the consumer provider, on recurring basis when thepayment provider requests additional identifiers, or any other suitabletime.

In this embodiment, the identifiers are redeemable by consumers 190 toreceive a service provided by a particular consumer provider. Forexample, the identifiers may be redeemed to receive a certain number ofminutes on a phone, to purchase goods at retail, over the web, over thephone, or the like. When ready to pay for such goods or services,consumer 190 contacts payment provider control 130 and requests to payfor a certain good or service (block 1336). Such contact can beaccomplished via any of the interfaces 12 illustrated in FIG. 2. Thus,for example, consumer 190 can contact payment provider control 130 via atelephone. As another example, consumer 190 can contact payment providercontrol 130 via a POS device 110. It should be recognized that contactcan be initiated in any number of ways, but for clarity, the remainderof the method is described in relation to contact initiated via POSdevice 110.

As just one example, consumer 190 may request to purchase a $20 callingcard, a $20 retail card, or the like. Consumer 190 enters the desiredamount and product via a POS device 110. This information is transmittedto payment provider control 130 along with a request to determine ifsuch a good or service is available. If such a good or service isavailable, payment provider control 130 indicates such and returns anidentifier to be associated with the transaction to POS device 110. Uponthe indication that such a transaction is possible, consumer 190 tenderspayment either to a merchant, or directly via POS device 110 where POSdevice 110 is capable of receiving payments (block 1338).

After payment is accepted, POS device 110 associates the tenderedpayment information to the received identifier. In addition, POS device110 prints a receipt for consumer 190 (block 1338). The receipt includesthe identifier along with various transaction information, such as,amount, date and time, and the like. Yet further, the paymentinformation and associated identifier are sent from POS device 110 topayment provider control 130, from where it can be transmitted toconsumer provider control 140 associated with the consumer provider(block 1340).

When consumer 190 is ready to receive the good or service, consumer 190contacts the consumer provider and presents the previously obtainedidentifier (block 1342). For example, consumer 190 may phone a cellphone company and give the identifier to have phone time added to a cellphone. Alternatively, consumer 190 may contact a seller in an auctionand give the identifier to have the seller proceed to ship a purchaseditem.

Either coincident with receipt of the payment from consumer 190, orsometime thereafter, payment provider control 130 credits the paymentamount (in some cases less transaction fees) to a bank accountassociated with the consumer provider (block 1344). This may beaccomplished by an ACH transfer as is known in the art.

In particular embodiments, the payment is not transferred from paymentprovider control 130 to the consumer provider until consumer 190receives purchased goods. Thus, in some instances, the presentembodiment can be used as an escrow service. In such embodiments,consumer 190 can be given a limited period after requesting goods usingthe identifier to dispute the transaction and request return of thepayment. If such a dispute is not lodged within a predetermined timeframe, the payment is transferred from payment provider control 130 tothe consumer provider. If such a dispute is lodged, the payment may bereturned to consumer 190 where sufficient evidence exists that the goodswere either not received or returned.

Various embodiments of the present invention also provide for activatinga service, such as phone service, utility service, newspaper deliver, orthe like. One example of such a process is illustrated as flow diagram1400 of FIG. 14. As illustrated in flow diagram 1400, a consumercontacts a consumer provider to request a service (block 1446). Anaccount is set up with the consumer provider and a record is createdcontaining the information needed to provide the service requested bythe consumer. In some embodiments, the account is maintained in database145 and accessible to the consumer provider control 140 associated withthe consumer provider. To pay for the service, the consumer isinstructed by the consumer provider to contact a payment provider.

At least some of this account information is transferred from consumerprovider control 140 to payment provider control 130 (block 1448). Thetransferred account information can include the amount of payment neededto have the requested service activated and may be maintained indatabase 135 associated with payment provider control 130.

The consumer then contacts the payment provider, tenders payment, andrequests that the payment be forwarded to the consumer provider (block1450). Payment may be tendered to a merchant associated with the paymentprovider. Further, in some cases, payment may be facilitated byaccessing POS device 110 located at a merchant location and incommunication with payment provider control 130. Additionally, POSdevice 110 can be used to access the account information maintained indatabase 135. A display screen on POS device 110 may display theappropriate account information along with the required payment and anyservice fee. The consumer then makes the payment as provided on thedisplay, and an identifier is issued to the consumer (block 1452). Forexample, a receipt may be printed by a printer in communication with POSdevice 110 that includes the identifier. Conveniently, the identifiermay be assigned to the account by the consumer provider when the accountis created.

The payment received from the consumer is then electronicallytransferred from the payment provider to a bank account of the consumerprovider. This may be an ACH transfer processed under control of paymentprovider control 130. In addition, the payment information along withthe identifier, is electronically transferred from payment providercontrol 130 to consumer provider control 140 (block 1456). Uponreceiving an indication that the payment has been received by thepayment provider, the consumer provider may then activate the requestedservice.

In a modification to the method of flow diagrams 1200, 1300, and 1400,the invention may also be used to issue physical cards having a storedvalue. These cards may be traditional debit cards having an accountnumber and personal identification number (PIN). These cards may beaccepted anywhere where traditional debit cards are used, such as thoseemploying the use of a debit network where ACH transfers are processed.

In such cases, the consumer provider can provide the payment providerwith account numbers and PINs. These are associated with physical cardsand the account numbers may be embossed on the cards. When one of thesecards are purchased, the stored value can be updated from paymentprovider control 130 to consumer provider control 140, where it ismaintained on database 145. When a purchase is made, the request is sentto a debit system that is capable of processing ACH transactions. Thisdebit system contacts consumer provider control 140 to verify theaccount and provide the appropriate debit to the account. Hence, oncethe account balance reaches zero, no more purchases may be made withoutagain contacting the payment provider and tendering payment. Thetendered payment is recorded to payment provider control 130 and updatedto consumer provider control 140. The funds associated with the paymentare also transferred to an account maintained by the consumer provider.In this way, a card is only good for the amount of prepayment. Further,the card may only be used with the PIN, thereby reducing the chances offraudulent purchases.

The invention may also permit stored value records without issuingphysical cards. In such cases, the payment service provider may generateits own set of identifiers and store them in a database. A consumer maythen make a payment to the payment service provider and be issued one ofthe identifiers. The amount of payment is then stored in the database asa stored value record. The consumer may then use this identifier to payfor goods or services from any merchant that will accept such anidentifier. For example, the identifier may be a routing number that isrecognized buy an ACH transfer system. In such cases, the identifier maybe used to debit the stored value account and to pay the merchant usingan ACH transfer.

The invention has now been described in detail for purposes of clarityand understanding. However, it will be appreciated that certain changesand modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appendedclaims. For example, a number of forms of system 100 may be implementedin accordance with the present invention. More particularly, system 100can include any number of POS devices 110, payment provider controls130, and/or consumer provider controls 140. Further, system 100 can beconfigured exclusively as an enrollment system, exclusively as a paymentsystem, or as some combination of payment and enrollment system.Further, the functions of the systems and methods of using such aremerely exemplary. Accordingly, it should be recognized that many othersystems, functions, methods, and combinations thereof are possible inaccordance with the present invention. Thus, although the invention isdescribed with reference to specific embodiments and figures thereof,the embodiments and figures are merely illustrative, and not limiting ofthe invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determinedsolely by the appended claims.

1. A payment service method, which comprises the steps of: a) a paymentservice provider contracting with a client to provide payment accountsto customers of the client, wherein a customer of the client enrollswith the payment service provider and thereafter pays funds into thepayment account and uses the funds to purchase goods or services fromthe client; b) the payment service provider receiving accountinformation comprising a set of account identifiers for the customersfrom the client, the set of identifiers forming a database comprisingexisting and future customer accounts, the set of identifiers beingformatted into a customer database, the customer database being operatedby the payment service provider; c) storing the account information inthe consumer database; d) receiving a request from the customer to makea payment to a client account, wherein the customer is physicallypresent at a payment service provider location; e) receiving identifyinginformation from the customer; f) using the database to verify status ofthe client account; g) the payment service provider receiving a paymentfrom the customer to purchase goods or services; h) using a computer toestablish the payment account with the payment service provider for thecustomer, wherein the computer is capable of communicating with astorage medium; i) storing the payment account in the storage medium; j)the payment service provider issuing and assigning a unique identifierto the customer after enrolling with the payment service provider andfor purposes of making payments, wherein the unique identifier isconfigured to provide the customer with access to the payment account tomake further payments from the payment account without providing theidentifying information; k) crediting the payment account in an amountcorresponding to the payment; l) using a wire transfer to transfer thefunds from the payment account to the client account upon receipt of thepayment; and m) printing a receipt for the customer, the receiptincluding the unique identifier and a commercial message to thecustomer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the commercial messageincludes a coupon.
 3. The method of claim 2, which includes theadditional step of identifying said payment account solely by the uniqueidentifier.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the commercial message isfrom the client.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the commercialmessage is from a third party that does not compete with the client. 6.The method of claim 1, which includes the additional step of: a)maintaining the anonymity of the customer.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the unique identifier is a single, exclusive identifier andwherein the method includes the additional step of utilizing the single,exclusive identifier for the customer and associating the exclusiveidentifier with the payment account.
 8. The method of claim 1, whichincludes the additional step of establishing an additional paymentaccount for the customer and associating the additional payment accountwith an additional client.
 9. The method of claim 1, which includes theadditional step of said payment service provider reporting to the clientactivity associated with customers of said client.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, which includes the additional steps of: a) said payment serviceprovider maintaining an agent network; and b) said customerscommunicating with said payment service provider through said agentnetwork.
 11. The method of claim 10, which includes the additional stepsof: a) enrolling the customers with said payment service providerthrough said agent network; and b) said payment service provider payinga fee to an agent in the agent network for each of the customersenrolled by the agent.
 12. The method of claim 1, which includes theadditional step of: (a) formatting a customer database of the client foruse by the payment service provider.
 13. The method of claim 1, whichincludes the additional steps of: a) establishing with said paymentservice provider an account group comprising the customers of theclient; and b) activating individual accounts upon enrollment of thecustomers.
 14. The method of claim 1, which includes the additionalsteps of: a) the client designating products for the payment service; b)the client designating payment denominations for each of the designatedproducts; c) establishing payment service provider fees; d) inputtingpricing bands based on the number of the customers of the client for theproducts; e) inputting principle ranges for the products; f) inputtingassociated fees for the products; and g) setting a variable fee schedulefor the payment service provider.
 15. The method of claim 1, whichincludes the additional steps of: a) setting criteria for customereligibility for said payment accounts; and b) excluding ineligiblecustomers from a database of eligible customers for said paymentaccounts.
 16. The method of claim 1, which includes the additional stepsof: a) activating a card for said customer; and b) storing the uniqueidentifier on the card.
 17. The method of claim 16, which includes theadditional step of: a) concealing the unique identifier on the card. 18.The method of claim 16, wherein said card comprises one of the groupcomprising: a credit card; a debit card; and a prepay card.
 19. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the customer interfaces with the paymentservice provider by one of a method from among the group consisting of:a) telephone with voice recognition; b) Internet global computernetwork; c) mail; d) in person; e) e-mail; and f) point-of-sale (POS)terminal with card reader.
 20. The method of claim 1 which includes theadditional steps of: a) the payment service provider tabulatingadvertising and coupon impressions for the client; b) the paymentservice provider tabulating coupon redemptions for the client; c) theclient paying the payment service provider for impressions; d) theclient paying the payment service provider for redemptions; e)collecting customer data from coupon redemptions; and f) reportingcoupon redemption customer data to the client.
 21. The method of claim1, which includes the additional steps of: a) setting an interval for adiscounted payment service; b) counting customer payments; and c)discounting a customer payment upon reaching said interval.
 22. Themethod of claim 1, which includes the additional steps of: a) displayinga new customer screen upon enrollment of a new customer by said paymentservice provider; b) capturing enrollment information concerning saidnew customer; and c) promoting other services of one of said paymentservice provider and said client to said customer.
 23. The method ofclaim 1 which includes the additional steps of: a) establishing amaximum permissible inactivity period; b) logging customer transactionsand comparing same to said maximum inactivity period; c) detectingaccounts which exceed said maximum allowable inactivity period; and d)retiring said accounts which exceed the maximum allowable inactivityperiod.
 24. The method of claim 1, which includes the additional stepsof: a) tracking customer transaction recurrences; b) monitoring customerretention; c) metering future marketing and rebate programs for theclient based on transaction recurrences and customer retention; and d)the payment service provider providing customer transaction records tothe client.
 25. The method of claim 1, which includes the additionalsteps of: a) setting a required number of transactions for rebate withthe client; b) counting said transactions with the client; and c)rebating the cost of customer cards to the client upon reaching thenumber of transactions required for rebate eligibility.
 26. The methodof claim 1, which includes the additional steps of: a) the clientidentifying products to the payment service provider; b) displaying theproducts to the customer; c) the customer selecting one or more of theproducts to pay on; d) the customer selecting one or more amounts to payon the selected products; and e) making said selected payments on saidselected products.
 27. The method of claim 1, which includes theadditional steps of: a) providing client-specific advertising; b) thepayment service provider enrolling customers for the client; and c) thecustomer and the payment service provider selecting features and pricingoffered by the client.